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Green Cards

17 03, 2024

California Green Card Marriage Fraud Ring: A Story of Profit and Prison Sentences

By |2024-03-19T06:38:33-05:00March 17th, 2024|Categories: Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, Green Cards|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. March 14, 2023 As access to our legal immigration system continues to be plagued by obstacles and exceptionally limited options, illegal avenues to life in the U.S. continue to make for profitable business for ambitious, unscrupulous entrepreneurs.  One recent example involves an enterprise with 600 immigrant customers being charged $20,000 to $35,000 each to be set up in fake marriages in order to obtain U.S. resident (Green Card) status.  In the past week, the chief architects and operators of this enterprise received prison sentences of 1 to 2 years along with other penalties following an extensive federal [...]

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21 08, 2023

Marriage Fraud Trouble

By |2023-09-08T09:55:36-05:00August 21st, 2023|Categories: Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. August 21, 2023 Over the years I have come to take notice that our nation’s inaccessible legal immigration system, with its limited offerings, is one of the main incubators of the green card marriage fraud business and our fake immigration document market overall.  It is also one of the primary causes of our nation’s expanded undocumented population, now in the many millions and over the course of many decades.   In other words, if given a chance to immigrate legally and within a reasonable period of time, the foreign nationals breaking our immigration laws to live and work [...]

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28 02, 2023

Green Card vs Citizenship: 5 Key Differences to Know About

By |2023-02-28T20:17:10-06:00February 28th, 2023|Categories: Green Cards|

Believe it or not, the U.S. accepts more immigrants than nearly any country in the world by a large margin. Every year, the U.S. grants over 140,000 new green cards every year, and welcomed over 800,000 new citizens after the pandemic backup in 2021! If you're considering moving to the United States, you have several options to choose from. Let's talk compare green card vs citizenship to see which route is best for your needs! What Is a Green Card? Holders of a green card, also known as permanent resident card, are permanent residents of the United States. They are neither [...]

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14 11, 2022

When the Worlds of Marijuana, State Law and U.S. Immigration Meet: Yes Means No

By |2022-11-20T13:31:43-06:00November 14th, 2022|Categories: General, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Green Cards, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published November 14, 2022 Mixed signals.  This is the best way to describe our society’s stance when it comes to marijuana use and U.S. immigration law.  Our state laws send one message, such as in Illinois where marijuana use and distribution is now legal.   Our federal laws though send a completely opposite message, prohibiting these very same activities. When it comes to applying for a Green Card or U.S. citizenship – immigration benefits rooted in federal law – an admission you smoked or distributed weed, including pursuant to authority under state law, can crazily lead to application denial.  Even worse, you might [...]

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10 08, 2022

Green Card Interviews – Why Are They Required? Are They Ever Excused?

By |2022-08-12T07:17:05-05:00August 10th, 2022|Categories: General, Green Cards|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published August 10, 2022 With some exceptions, foreign nationals seeking to live and work permanently in the U.S. will undergo some sort of interview before being approved for lawful permanent status, aka Green Card status.  If the applicant is overseas, the process culminates with an ”immigrant visa interview” conducted by a U.S. Department of State official at a U.S. consular post in the applicant’s country of residence. If the applicant is present in the U.S. and meets eligibility requirements for consideration, an “adjustment of status” interview will take place before a U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration [...]

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26 01, 2021

6 Big Immigration Happenings Under President Biden

By |2021-01-26T16:11:29-06:00January 26th, 2021|Categories: General, Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., Asylum in the United States, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Green Cards, immigration reform, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published January 26, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. Even before President Biden took office, the nonstop flow of news relating to immigration law began.  How will things be different with President Biden when it comes to immigration law and policy, especially after 4 years of the Trump administration’s harsh tone and policies?  In the past 10 days, the Biden administration has announced dozens of important immigration initiatives, some being Executive Orders taking effect immediately and without Congressional approval and others like proposed legislation, requiring Congressional approval and having no immediate impact.   Below are the 6 most far reaching of these orders [...]

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3 01, 2021

How to Get a Green Card Through Your Job

By |2021-01-04T09:47:47-06:00January 3rd, 2021|Categories: General, Employment-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Health Care Workers in the U.S., Immigration and PERM / Labor Certification, United States Embassies Abroad|

Published January 3, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. After family based immigration, the next most popular avenue to live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis is the “green card” by way of a job or job talents.  Most employment based paths to lawful permanent resident (green card) status, require a financially viable employer to offer the foreign national a job and where U.S. workers are unavailable to fill the role.  Other job based green card processes do not require a test of the job market, and some require no actual job offer. In most cases, the first requirement [...]

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30 12, 2020

How to Get a Green Card For Your Parent

By |2021-01-04T09:47:57-06:00December 30th, 2020|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., United States Embassies Abroad|

Published December 27, 2020 By Richard Hanus, Esq. There are a couple dozen ways a foreign national can come live in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (aka as a “green card” holder) with most involving either a family or employer/employee relationship.  When it comes to family relationships, an adult U.S. citizen’s petition for their foreign national parent is among the most popular and efficient processes available. The basic requirements: 1) the child filing on behalf of their parent must be 21 years of age or older, and 2) the petitioning child must be a U.S. citizen.  The adult child [...]

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1 12, 2020

How to Get a Green Card for Your Child

By |2021-01-04T09:48:05-06:00December 1st, 2020|Categories: General, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published December 1, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. A foreign national has more than a few ways available to facilitate lawful permanent residence, aka “green card” status, for their child.   The exact path the process takes depends on a variety of factors, including whether the child’s parent is a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident or is just in the process of obtaining permanent resident status.  Also important is whether the child being petitioned is under 21 years of age at the time of a visa petition and how soon they will turn 21, factors that will determine the ultimate timeline for processing, start [...]

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9 11, 2020

How To Get A Green Card Through Marriage

By |2021-01-04T09:48:13-06:00November 9th, 2020|Categories: General, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S.|

Published November 9, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. Obtaining lawful permanent residence, or green card status, by way of a genuine, bona fide marriage to a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident is one of the more commonly used processes under U.S. immigration law. Much of the time processing of a marriage based filing remains straightforward, although a number of factors can complicate things, such as sudden changes in the law or questions surrounding the sincerity of the marriage. Other complicating circumstances include an applicant’s history of previous immigration violations or even criminal offenses. Below is a discussion of: a) [...]

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